This invention relates to the discovery and asexual propagation of a new and distinct variety of nectarine tree, Prunus persica var. nucipersica, cv. ‘Sunectwentyone.’ The new variety was first hybridized and selected as ‘97014-048-085’ by David Cain. The new variety was first selected and evaluated by David Cain and Terry Bacon near Mecca, Calif. in Riverside County during April, 1999.
The new variety ‘Sunectwentyone’ is characterized by having heavy production of relatively large (66 mm), very firm fruit. The bright red fruit has bright yellow flesh that is moderately juicy, very firm, and tart-sweet with approximately 12 brix. ‘Sunectwentyone’ has a relatively low chilling requirement of 250 hours at or below 7.2° C. The new variety has a relatively low tendency for split-pits, russeting, and thrips damage. The fruit is typically harvested about May 8-15 in Kern County, Calif., with the harvest starting about 4 days after the harvest date of ‘April Glo’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 7,305) nectarine variety.
The seed parent of the new variety is ‘94-051N’ (unpatented) which was selected from a progeny of a cross between two breeding selections; an unknown low-chill nectarine crossed with pollen of ‘FLA85-1’ peach (unpatented). The pollen parent is ‘94-025N’ (unpatented) that was selected from a progeny of a cross between two low-chill breeding selections; ‘FLA88-16N’ nectarine (unpatented) crossed with pollen of ‘FLA9-20C’ peach (unpatented). The parent varieties were first crossed in 1997 with the date of planting of January 1998 and the date of first flowering being January 1999.
The new nectarine variety ‘Sunectwentyone’ was first asexually propagated by David Cain near Wasco, Kern County, Calif. in 1999 by budding onto ‘Flordaguard’ (unpatented) rootstock. The new variety ‘Sunectwentyone’ has been shown to maintain its distinguishing characteristics through successive asexual propagations.
The new variety ‘Sunectwentyone’ is distinguished from its seed parent, ‘94-051N’ in that ‘Sunectwentyone’ ripens approximately 5 days later than ‘94-051N.’ Further, the fruit of the new variety is larger than the fruit of ‘94-051N’ (66 mm compared to 64 mm).
The new variety ‘Sunectwentyone’ is distinguished from its pollen parent, ‘94-025N’ in that ‘Sunectwentyone’ ripens approximately 14 days earlier than ‘94-025N.’
The new nectarine variety ‘Sunectwentyone’ can be distinguished from presently available cultivars in commerce by the following combination of characteristics: the new ‘Sunectwentyone’ most nearly resembles ‘April Glo’ nectarine in ripening time, but ‘Sunectwentyone’ begins harvest about 4 days later and has larger fruit (66 mm compared to 58 mm for ‘April Glo’).